Senior Bowl Day 4: South Team Practice Report

Due to the inclement weather in Mobile the South practice was also held indoors. Unfortunately it was another walk through type practice which featured players wearing no pads and no helmets. As has been the story all week, the South practice featured a little bit more pace and a little bit more effort from the players.

It seems that Coach Shanahan puts more emphasis on match ups and consistent 1 on 1 competition than Coach Frazier does. The South team runs more 7 on 7 drills and does more 11 on 11work than the North squad does. Although the practice was not a good opportunity to scout and evaluate players, it was a good opportunity to talk to agents and scouts about the week.

One of the constants this week has been the play of Oklahoma State QB Brandon Weeden. All the scouts, players and agents I talk think he has had a great week and has surely helped his stock. I would feel comfortable drafting Weeden in the second round.

Quinton Coples and Courtney Upshaw came into the week as the top defensive prospects here in Mobile. They certainly haven’t done anything to dissuade scouts otherwise. Coples has been near unblockable in 1 on 1 drills, the only player who has come close to containing him is Georgia LT/OG Cordy Glenn. Upshaw has also had a great week his explosiveness and position versatility will make him attractive to almost every team in the NFL.

If there is a defensive player who has helped himself most this week it’s Janoris Jenkins. He has been the talk of Mobile and has had the scouts oohing and ahhing all week with his consistent coverage and explosive drives on the ball. Also Arkansas WR Joe Adams continues to catch everything in site and the buzz down here is he has scouts very excited about him in the 2nd round.

As for injury replacements, Alabama WR Marquis Maze has dropped out of the Senior Bowl due to his hamstring which he originally hurt in the National Championship game. You could tell he wasn’t himself this week and it was affecting his play. He has been replaced by Illinois WR AJ Jenkins who I was anxious to see today, but really didn’t do much of anything giving the walk through and his late arrival.